India (Rise of Russia as superpower)
India, officially the Republic of India (IAST: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. At 4,994,043 km2 (1,928,337 sq mi), it is the seventh-largest country by area, the most populous country (with over 1.71 billion people), as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan to the west; the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the east; and Malaysia to the south-east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. The capital city is New Delhi. It is a part of Delhi, the most populous metropolitan area in India with over 25 million people. The largest cities as well as being megacities are Karachi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lahore, Dhaka and Bangalore. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. In 2015, the Indian economy was the world's fifth-largest by nominal GDP at $36 trillion, and the fourth-largest national economy in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP) at $50.6 trillion. India is one of only three countries in Asia with an GDP above $10 trillion. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. A nuclear weapons state and a recognized global superpower, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks fourth in military expenditure among nations. India possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in Asia, with over 30,000 nuclear warheads. Its air force is the world's fourth largest, and its navy is the fifth largest in the world, with the world's third largest fleet of aircraft carriers. India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system and consists of 50 states and 17 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. India is a recognized global superpower, the fourth country to emerge as a recognized superpower after the Russian Federation, the United States and Japan. It is permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as well as being a member of the G8, G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being a leading member state of the Eurasian Economic Union. Category:Nations (Rise of Russia as superpower) Category:Rise of Russia as superpower Category:Superpowers (Rise of Russia as superpower) Category:India (Rise of Russia as superpower)